Soft demand and limited trading activity kept East Asia's stainless steel prices relatively steady over the past week, although some mills continued to raise their offers amid costlier nickel.
Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil was $2,210-2,310 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday May 16, widening downward by a slight $20 per tonne from a week earlier. Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless trimmed hot-rolled sheet was $2,170-2,240 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the same period, unchanged week on week.Several deals involving Chinese stainless trimmed CRC were heard concluded at around $2,210-2,250 per tonne cif, sources said.Stainless trimmed hot-rolled coil from China was also heard to have changed hands at $2,100 per tonne fob - equivalent to about $2,170-2,200 per tonne cif for the sheet product...